Alabama’s courtship of receiver Derek Kief all happened fast, first making contact last week, followed by an offer on Thursday. So what's next for the Cincinnati La Salle receiver?

Kief is planning a visit to the Tide this month.

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound standout spoke with Tide coach Nick Saban on Thursday morning. It was the first time the two spoke.

“He said he liked my ball skills and my size and my aggressiveness,” Kief said. “He said he needs a bigger receiver and then he offered me of course.”

Northwestern will host Kief for a visit this weekend, but he will make the trip to Tuscaloosa in two weeks for the weekend of Mar. 23. It will be the first time he has visited Alabama.

“Seeing the facilities, meeting the coaches and seeing a practice at Alabama,” Kief said when asked what he is looking forward to. “They won the past two national championships so I might want to see how they practice.”

Kief called the offer from Alabama “an honor,” and he is up to 16 offers after West Virginia and Wisconsin also offered Thursday.

Kentucky offered Kief shortly after Mark Stoops was named coach. Stoops is making Ohio, specifically the Cincinnati area, a major point of emphasis as the Wildcats coach. Kief’s former teammate, Jaleel Hytchye, was the first Ohio commitment of the Stoops era and signed with the Wildcats in February.

“I really like Kentucky,” Kief said. “I like the coaches and their offense because they’re a spread team and throw it a lot and feel it’s a program up and coming. They seem like they’ll mold together.”

Along with Kentucky and Northwestern, Kief said the in-state Buckeyes are the third of the three programs he speaks with the most. He will visit Ohio State the weekend of Mar. 30.